Sending My Thoughts Your Way

I seek to be a professional persuader. Though I am much less pushy in my more private life, my profession is to profess my confession. Sometimes I am given a classroom of students. Sometimes I am given a sanctuary of sheep. I seek to persuade readers of books, or magazines, and of the internet. My desire, of course, is to help. My prayer is that my confession matches one for one with the fullness of the Word of God. His wisdom, not my own folly is what we all need. And so here I am sending my thoughts your way.

My wife is sick. She has acute myelomonocytic leukemia. By God’s grace she has beaten cancer twice before, and we remain hopeful she can do it again. We are deeply and profoundly blessed to have so many saints praying for us, storming the mercy seat on her behalf. We find ourselves more centered, more peaceful, more grateful and content than we were before the diagnosis. We see the hand of God at work.

We are likewise grateful for the well wishes of those outside the kingdom. It is a blessing to be loved. What is heartbreaking is that these friends are so alone. Just days ago one lost friend told me, “I’m sending my prayers to your beautiful wife.” I thanked him but let him know, “It would help her more if you could send those prayers to the Lord of heaven and earth. He can do something about this.” I wasn’t trying to embarrass my friend. I wanted him to know where the power is. In an “under the sun” world, sadly, all we can do is “send good thoughts your way.” How anemic. How pathetic. How terribly lonely.

Those outside the kingdom are wont to accuse those inside of needing a crutch. The God that we believe in is just something we need to cope with life. They are of course, wrong. God is not a crutch. He is instead life. Without a crutch the crippled stand still. But I’m not crippled, I’m dead. He doesn’t help me walk; He makes me live.

God does not become real because we need Him. Instead, we need Him because He is real. We were made for Him. He hears our prayers. He answers our prayers. He is at work in space and time, in giving cancer for His glory, and we pray again in healing cancer for His glory. Our prayer is that as we go through this, our thoughts, as manifested in our lives, will show forth that reality to a lost and dying world. And we ask that you would pray the same. How glorious it would be if through this trial a nurse, a tech, an unbelieving family member, a doctor, even a worried patient in the room next door, might be brought to eternal life. Please pray with us that our lives would profess our confession, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and that He lives and reigns now and forever.